As They Fall
by nightfall26
Summary: She knew they could never be; she understood the fragile nature of the situation. He shattered everything, in a single, calculated blow delivered right to her heart. Because he could never understand. Of course, he was always smarter. Z x K REVIEW.


**Hello everyone! This is a piece joint-written by both me and my awesome friend, Eakk.**

**I hope you enjoy it, and if I got any tears or at LEAST some sadness, send me a message letting me knowww!**

**~Nightfall26**

Katara had forgiven Zuko a long time ago. Prospectors could see that they were becoming friends. It was unfathomable, true, and almost curiously fantastic. A Fire Lord and a Water Tribe girl, friends? Of course it couldn't last, for by nature would they not be polar opposites?

It had taken a while, certainly. Amity doesn't just happen in an instant, and in these people in particular, there were past bumps that came up every so often, though fewer each time.

At the same time, other relationships weren't faring so well.

It seemed almost convenient, sometimes, how Katara and Zuko got along so well during the rocky ending of their relationships. Perhaps it was consolation that pushed them together.

Mai and Zuko had broken up ages ago. Nobody really knew why. It had just spluttered out, and one day, Mai had decided to return home. The mystery had bubbled to the lips of all the Fire Nation gossipers for months. There were rumors that one of the two had snapped and attacked the other. This was purely made-up, but a cut observed on Zuko's arm didn't help the cause.

Katara and Aang were escalating apart every moment. He had flown out to the Air Temple a few days ago – he mentioned that after everything, he needed something familiar – and hadn't sent the Water Tribe girl a single message since. Now, this was a secret kept between close friends. The world still thought of them as deeply in love; soul mates, even.

One evening, on a whim, Zuko had visited the girl in her chambers. She had greeted him with tired eyes and a wavering smile. She fussed with messy hair wearily until she fiddled with knots twirling around her fingers, and Zuko came to help untangle them.

After talking for hours, Katara had dropped her head down upon his shoulder, and promptly fell asleep. Zuko had smiled down at her with a soft expression, scooping her up in his arms to place her down in bed. Something between them had changed, and neither had quite realized it yet. All they knew was that there was a kindling friendship, at the very least.

The night after that, he had returned.

And the night after that.

They kept meeting like that for weeks on end, and the day before Aang was supposed to return, Zuko leaned over and kissed her. They had both gasped in horror, faces as red as Fire Nation tomatoes, and apologized awkwardly. Katara had shyly excused herself from the room and avoided him for the rest of the day, though she rubbed the spot where his lips touched feverishly and almost lovingly, to her surprise.

Even when Aang did return, their friendship continued to grow. It wasn't long before she preferred his company over the Airbender's. Of course, her friend Toph had already noticed the changes. Katara admitted to her that she harbored steadily growing feelings for Zuko, and Toph warned her against it.

"You'll hurt Aang." She said softly, her blind eyes filled with sorrow. Katara's eyes widened at this statement, finally realizing the force of what she had said. Once more she felt the spot where he made contact with her, like a burning imprint on her lips.

Yet still, she continued to choose Zuko over Aang.

Aang, being older than everyone believed, wasn't shaded to this. He came to her about this, his expression as worn out as an old handkerchief that had been used and tossed aside. He had told her of his feelings, and she had reminded him that her heart rested with him. Of course nothing could cut their bonding thread, she told him. Though she herself didn't entirely know how truthful that was.

Being the innocent, trusting person he was, he seemed convinced, and let go of the matter.

Unknowingly, Zuko began to fall in love with the Waterbender. He spoke to Iroh about it once, briefly, as Katara had gone to Toph. His uncle had pointed out his deepening blush when he mentioned her, and they came to the conclusion that Zuko didn't have just any emotions for her – he _loved _her.

With a fiery passion that only a Firebender could possess.

One evening, Zuko got the news that he was to leave to settle a feud between two warring villages. He ventured to Katara's room to tell her of this, and found himself wanting to speak of his feelings as well.

Katara greeted him at the door, this time with a smile, and he rushed inside quicker than he'd intended. He'd cast looks down the hallway – looking for Aang, most likely.

"I have to talk to you." He muttered, sitting down heavily on a chair. Katara nodded, sitting across from him.

"What is it, Zuko?" She asked.

The innocence in her voice made him want to cross the room and envelope her in a tight embrace. He wanted to protect her from any harm, but possibly most of all, he wanted her to return his feelings.

But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't; he refrained.

"I have to leave." His voice was soft, so soft that Katara had to strain to hear him. She rose from her chair, eyes wide, trying to verify what he was whispering.

"Leave? And go where?" Her voice rose a little. He cast a despairing glance her way, his eyes heavy with sorrow.

"I'm going to stop a war between two villages. It shouldn't be hard." Even though his words were optimistic, his tone was grave. Katara took the few steps to his side, and he stood to meet her. His hands shot out, grasping her hands in his and pulling her into his arms.

"Zuko, please..." She murmured, pushing away from him, ever so slightly.

"Katara?" He sounded hurt. She swallowed loudly.

"It's nothing." Katara burrowed her face into his chest, wrapping her arms firmly about his waist. He leaned his head upon hers, running his long fingers through her hair. They stood there for ages, holding each other, until Katara finally pulled away.

"I don't want to leave." Zuko breathed, smoothing her hair out of her face. Katara nodded.

"I don't want you to either." But she said the words as if she wished she could take them back.

And Zuko noticed.

He exhaled softly. Painfully.

"I wanted to tell you something." She looked up at him, questioningly.

"Other than what you've told me?" Katara asked. He nodded.

"I wanted to say that...that..." He rubbed a hand through his hair in embarrassment. Katara stood up on her tiptoes, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

"You don't have to tell me." Her voice was as sweet as an angel, breaking through the cloud of embarrassment that surrounded Zuko.

"But I do. I love you, Katara." He said, almost roughly, his hands on her shoulders. Katara smiled a lilting smile, her eyes regarding him softly.

"As I love you, Zuko."

What had happened to the voice of reason? The mother of the group? Where had she gone?

She threw caution to the wind and pressed her lips to his, stretching up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms about his neck. The kiss was filled with the smoldering heat of Zuko, swirled delicately with the ice of Katara. The heat and liquid was a sweet contradiction that could not help break, and both people seemed to realize at the same time how wrong it was.

But it was Katara who stepped away first, stuttering and covering her face with one hand. She plunged feebly to the floor, staring into her palms. A staggering amount of time was spent in complete silence until she talked – gasped – again.

"Zuko... Oh, Zuko..." Her voice was choked with emotion. Zuko stumbled backwards as well, his eyes wide with horror. After a moment, he recovered himself, and steadied. Katara twined her fingers together in a complicated knot, eyes hard on the floor, worrying herself senseless.

"Katara..." Zuko advanced slowly, like a predator.

"We could make it work. Aang would never know... We could do this..." He spoke in a low purr. Katara shook her head, indigo eyes spinning with confusion. She found herself murmuring strange noises and taking a few steps backwards. She stared at everything besides Zuko, the one who had caused her all this disorientation.

"He would find out eventually... it would hurt him so much..." Katara winced at the thought of it. "I can't damage him! I'm not able to!" Her modest outburst was soon hushed by the quiet atmosphere. Zuko intruded upon her privacy, moving fluidly.

They were entirely too close.

She could barely catch her breath. Barely restrain the reddening blush growing on her cheeks. Barely untangle the tight knot that had entwined her heart into hopeless loops.

He was leaning closer, closer, closer, inching towards her a little more each devastating moment.

She reached up, a finger to his lips, and shook her head without direction. His mouth turned from the shape of a kiss to a frown, and his eyes saddened considerably. He had the gaze of a condemned animal, ready for execution, and Katara almost reconsidered.

Almost.

"It's not right, Zuko." A soft whisper, shattering the stillness that hung between them. His eyes closed, whether if due to exhaustion or agony she couldn't tell.

"It's because you love Aang, isn't it?" His reply was filled with anguish. She hesitated.

"I don't know." She whispered, sighing a little. He shook his head in disgust, shoving away from her and casting his gaze downward to the delicately covered floor. Wherever he stepped, Zuko could imagine minute, almost insignificant threads peeling apart. Still, they created the entire mat, and therefore every strand was precious.

"When did you ever know, Katara? It was always you two, you were always together. But you told me you wanted to get out of the relationship, and the moment you have to escape from him, you can't do it. I told you, Katara, you have me. You told me you loved me. What changed?"

She couldn't look at him. It hurt her too much. The days of complaining, of bitterness, of frustration towards the monk were replaced by ones of guilt and sorrow.

"I talked to him yesterday..." She began, twisting her hands in her skirts. Zuko could have screamed from frustration.

"I told you that if you wanted to get over him, you'd have to stop talking to him!" A little puff of smoke came from between his lips, and Katara knew he was getting dangerously upset.

"I can't hurt him, Zuko!" She cried, tears exploding from her. Katara sank to her knees, pounding her hands against her head.

"I love you, Zuko..."

"No, you don't." He hissed, clenching his fists. She shook her head helplessly.

"I'm so confused... I felt so badly for him..." Her voice shook from the stress.

"Katara, I want you to be happy. So tell me what to do to help you..." Zuko's voice was softer, and Katara glanced up. She shook her head of chocolate locks violently.

"I don't want help! I've never wanted help, Zuko. I just need to think things over... Please. Just allow me some time." Her face was filled with desperation. Zuko's jaw clenched even tighter than thought possible, but he nodded once stiffly.

"I want to be able to love both of you. No – I don't want to love either of you. I-I can't. Not now, not while I feel so confused..." She spoke with wet sobs interrupting, and in that instant, Zuko felt a little piece of himself die.

She didn't want him.

She couldn't choose.

He left the next day with those thoughts bounding through his head. He woke with the sun, as to not speak with Katara before departure. He crept to her room, to tell her goodbye wordlessly. If she were to wake, he hadn't a notion on what to say or do.

She was fast asleep, her brow furrowed with thought and her hands clenched into tiny fists in the silken sheets. Zuko knelt by her, caressing her cheek with an ungloved finger. Any expressions he might have been wearing turned to one of soft affection.

Her face smoothed out, and a calm sigh escaped her.

"I will always love you, Katara. Constantly," Zuko whispered, kneeling by her to place a kiss on her forehead. She didn't arouse from her doze, and so, Zuko set out.

When Katara woke, a few hours later, she woke with his kiss on her forehead and his caress on her cheek. She knew he had been there. She knew it had been him that had comforted her through her raging nightmares.

She suddenly knew, in a whirlwind of thought, that she loved Zuko. The realization brought about immediate relief, and a sense of self-ridicule. How could she have not known? He was the one who loved her with absolute fierceness, and she had dismissed it.

With her palm smacking her face, she dressed as quickly as she could, tugging a brush through her hair and skipping out of the room.

"Iroh!" Katara called, peering about for the older man. When she found him, he was at his usual chair, sipping some tea.

"Ah, Katara. Would you care for some tea?" He asked, smiling up at her. She nodded.

"Of course, thank you. By chance, have you heard from Zuko?" Katara asked, pouring herself a cupful. He shook his head.

"We won't hear from him until this evening, which is when he returns."

And so, Katara made herself busy until he would return. She helped in the training rings, she rearranged her room. She tried to make herself useful wherever she went.

Finally, when night fell, she joined Iroh at the palace steps.

They waited. And Zuko did not come.

Hours passed. Still, Zuko did not come.

Iroh fell asleep, while Katara kept herself awake diligently, eyes scanning the houses and paths before her. There were few people still up in the city, so it wasn't difficult in identifying anyone that passed by. Of course, even if there were thousands of citizens bustling through the streets, Katara would have been capable of distinguishing him. With his face – not his scar, but other features that made Zuko him – it'd be hard not to notice.

But.

_He did not come. _

Finally, when dawn had just begun to break the edge of the horizon, Katara saw him. A single rider, carrying an injured man in front of him. She leapt to her feet, her eyes wild with fear.

"Zuko!" She cried, rushing to his side. He was lying on his back, his eyes swiveling about in his head and sweat plastering his hair to his forehead. Blood cascaded in crimson rivers from his armor, dripping down his face, while his mouth gasped uneven breaths.

"Lady Katara, he's dying. He did his best to stop the feud... But all it caused was our downfall..." The man holding him said this quietly, helping Zuko down.

"Get me some water!" Katara hissed, kneeling by Zuko's broken body. She ripped off his armor and his shirt, examining the wounds with a practiced eye. Almost every area of skin was covered with sweat, blood, or a mixture of the two.

The soldier returned with a wooden bucket overflowing with water, his eyes wide with anxiety. Katara worked quickly, her hands a blur overtop of Zuko's marred chest.

At one point, she came across something that made her hands stop suddenly, shaking with horror. Without the bending, the water simply splashed down Zuko's body and into the dry ground.

"No..." She whispered hoarsely.

"Lady Katara?"

"He's bleeding internally... I can't... I can't stop it..." Tears dewed in the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over. She kept working anyway, hoping, praying that she could save him.

Desperation took over, reigning over every motion she made. When her hair would fall across her shoulders and into her eyes, she'd toss it back furiously.

Suddenly, she felt a tight grip on her wrist, swelteringly hot. She stopped her work to see Zuko clutching her wrist, his eyes dulled with pain. The man who was dying tried to convey his thoughts through contact alone, but Katara narrowed her tearing eyes, shuddered her head, and kept working.

"Stop... Katara..." He was panting for air.

"No, Zuko, don't try and stop me," She muttered, ripping her hand out of his.

"Katara, I'm not worth it... I have... no reason to live." His voice was bitter, with a slight mocking tone. She looked down into his golden eyes, darkened with agony, and shook her head.

"You have all the reasons in the world to live, Zuko." Her voice was gentle.

"Name one," Zuko jeered. "Amuse me."

"Because I love you." The words were blissful redemption for her.

Zuko shook his head, disbelief clouding his appearance.

"I can prove it to you." Katara leaned over him, pressing a kiss to his forehead, his eyelids, his nose, and finally, his lips. Zuko felt tears sting at his eyes, and he reached – painfully – up to tangle his fingers in the Waterbender's hair.

He returned the kiss with all the emotion he possessed, gripping her to him with an overwhelming need. As tightly as he could, though, was not very much, considering his weak state.

"I do... love you... Zuko." Katara muttered, in between kisses. She tasted tears, and pulled away. She assumed it was her who was, but instead it was he who was crying softly.

"I know..." He replied, his thumbs moving in soothing circles on her cheeks. She gathered his hands in hers.

"Then why are you crying?"

"Because I know I won't be here with you much longer..."

"Don't say that, Zuko!" Katara raged, pressing her lips to his in a ferocity that she didn't know she could handle. He sighed, and she felt tears slip down her cheeks to mingle with his.

"Katara..." Her name rolled off of numb lips.

"Yes, Zuko?" She clutched his hands to her heart, rocking back and forth slowly. His eyes fluttered closed, and Katara released a gasp.

"No! Zuko, stay with me, stay awake!" She shrieked, grabbing his shoulders to shake him vigorously. Zuko's eyes opened a little, and she sighed in relief.

"Please stay with me, Zuko..." She murmured, smoothing his sweaty locks out of his eyes. He blinked slowly. She tried to force a hopeful smile that echoed false notes even in her thoughts.

"I...love you." His voice was slurred, and Katara nodded as his eyes closed again.

"I know, I know, Zuko, I love you too."

But it was too late. He was gone.

She scrambled to re-assess his injuries, to try once more to fix him.

She couldn't. Her hands froze, balling into fists. She pounded them on his chest, screaming his name out over and over again. Her hair streamed out behind her like a wild creature, tears dripping onto his still body. Katara pressed her ear to his chest, listening for the pulsing heartbeat she knew was there – it _had_ to be there...

Silence filled her ears.

Desperation was replaced by insanity.

Eventually, people tried to get her away from his body. She held his torso in both of her slim arms, his head lolling about on her shoulder. She held accusing stares at anyone who challenged her, who got in any way close.

"No, don't you _dare_ take me away from him!" Katara screeched, tightening her grip about the dead Fire Lord. Distressed and mad tears fell from her face onto his back. It was losing its warmth, yet she cradled him in her arms.

Still, in the end, it was Sokka who wrestled her away from him. She kicked and wailed, trying to hit him with water whips. When bending seemed to fail, she resorted to clawing the hands that were dragging her away.

"No! Zuko!" Her voice ripped through three octaves hysterically.

From there, darkness greeted her.

Until the end of her days, Katara always regretted that night she hesitated. The one time she thought twice about Aang, the one time that she couldn't let go of safe, dependable Aang.

It had been the end of both her, and the man she had loved so much.

**I would be most honored if you would review- this story was extremely important to me.**

**Thank you!  
~nightfall26**


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